The Apology
by JetWarrior
Summary: Buttercup feels compelled to right a wrong...


Hey! My first piece ever on this site. I hope you like it!

** Disclaimer:** _I only own the story, not the characters in it._

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The door was already slightly ajar. The light in the room was off.

Buttercup pushed it open just a bit more to allow herself more space to enter. She looked around a bit before her eyes settled on the bed. There, flat on top of the covers with her hands behind her head, lay her sister, staring at the ceiling with an unreadable look on her face. She was still, no part of her body moving save her chest for breathing. It unnerved Buttercup. Her sister had to have known that she had entered because the sliver of light that lay across her face from the hall had gotten brighter and wider, but if she did notice, she made no indication whatsoever. Buttercup didn't quite know how to take it...did she not want to see her? Or was she telling her that it was okay to enter? Buttercup decided to take her chances. She needed to do this now.

She approached the side of the bed opposite of her sister. "H-hey, Bubbles." Her sister still did not move, but whispered a flat, almost inaudible "Hey."

Buttercup climbed into the bed, taking time to study Bubbles a bit closer. She continued to stare at the ceiling, looking as though she were deep in thought. Buttercup thought she had an idea what she was thinking about, and a small wave of guilt washed over her. It only served to solidify her resolve to get this over with. Upon further inspection, Buttercup noticed that her sister didn't have red eyes or dry tear trails, meaning she probably hadn't been crying at all. For some reason, this only made her feel worse. She decided to finally break the silence that had settled.

"Um...whatcha doin'?" she asked her sister.

"Just thinkin'..." Bubbles replied with neither motion nor emotion. Buttercup was a bit relieved nonetheless; at least she wasn't going to ignore her.

"About what?" she pressed. She was lying next to her, in almost the same position, except that she was looking at Bubbles while Bubbles continued to stare upwards. "A little of everything, I guess. About myself. About what you said."

Buttercup groaned inwardly. Her worst fear was confirmed. Bubbles had taken what she said to heart. And now she was thinking deeply into it. Buttercup hadn't meant what she said, really...it was just a joke. She was just making fun of Bubbles…nothing extraordinary, just the usual. But her sister's unusual reaction had stirred something deep inside. Some sort of feeling that she hadn't experienced before; the type that came with only her guilty conscience telling her what she had to do. And the worst part about it was that Bubbles wasn't even mad at her. That fact only made Buttercup feel worse. She gathered her voice.

"Bubbles...um...I'm...ahh..." – this was going to be harder than she though it would be - "I…I'm…I'm sorry...about...about what I said earlier. I mean, I didn't really mea-"

"It's all right," Bubbles cut her off. Buttercup wouldn't settle for that, however. She'd finally started to say what she'd wanted to say.

"No, let me finish this. I...I didn't really mean it. I was just having fun...and I guess I spoke before I really thought about what I was saying. Again. But I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything. I'm…I'm sorry if I did."

Buttercup watched her sister carefully, not knowing how she would respond. She was slightly surprised when Bubbles looked at her. She didn't move her head, just her eyes. And the corners of her mouth formed a tiny smile. "It's okay, Buttercup, I forgive you. I know you didn't really mean it...and anyways, I've heard it so often that it doesn't really bother me anymore."

"Really?" Buttercup stared at her sister briefly before looking away and towards the window with a small smile of her own. "Heh heh...that's a bit of a relief, I guess. Thanks, Bubbles."

"No problem," came the reply. Then there was silence...not awkward, but comfortable. It gave Buttercup a bit more time to think. Bubbles hadn't thought much of what she said. She hadn't even been that offended. But wait, what had she said? That it didn't really bother her anymore? Was she that used to-

"Buttercup?" Buttercup turned back to her sister, only to find that she was now laying on her side with her head propped up on her hand, staring straight at her with eyes slightly narrowed; not in a threatening way, but as if she were going to analyze Buttercup's response. "Why did you come and apologize?" she asked.

"What?"

"What made you apologize? You usually don't do it so quickly...or on your own. So what happened this time?"

It was a very good question...one that Buttercup didn't really know the answer to. But she gave it her best shot anyways. "I'm not sure, actually. I think it might've been the way you said, 'Maybe you're right...', and the way you just floated off after that. To tell you the truth, I don't think I would've felt as bad if you had screamed at me, or stormed off or something like that. But that look on your face...it was like you just gave up the argument, which isn't something I would expect from you. And I was afraid that maybe I had...maybe I'd gone too far this time or something. I don't know...I just had this feeling like I had just committed this wrong that needed to be fixed ASAP. I mean, why did you just stop and leave?" Buttercup watched as her blonde sister sat up on the pillow with her arms wrapped around her knees. She followed suit.

"I don't know, really. Like I said, it didn't really bother me that much...it just made me think about myself. About why I do the things I do and why I am the way I am. About why I'm afraid of the dark. About why I don't like bugs. Why I like to draw. Why I love Octi so much. Y'know...just different stuff like that."

Buttercup took to heart what her sister had just said. Yes, those things were very much what made Bubbles the Bubbles that they knew and loved, and they did very much know and love that Bubbles, so Buttercup didn't want her to feel bad about being the only person she knew how to be.

"Well, you know, a lot of people are afraid of the dark…just like a lot of people are afraid of different types of bugs. I mean, you know, I don't really like spiders. And…I think you like to draw because it's a way for you to express your feelings. I think that's why you like Octi so much, too. It would be weird for you not to show your feelings. You're a very…umm…passionate person. It's just how you do things. It's the way you were made. It's who you are...maybe that's why I was so shaken about how you just left. I couldn't see any emotion on your face or hear any in your voice. It was so unlike you. It just didn't seem like…like something Bubbles would do, you know?"

Bubbles looked at her sister, and a big smile appeared on her face. "And it didn't seem like a 'Buttercup' thing to do to just come up and say sorry…but I'm glad you did it anyways."

Buttercup smirked at her sister. "I thought what I said didn't bother you that much?" Bubbles smirked back. "It didn't…but it doesn't mean that I like being made fun of."

"Heh heh…yeah, I guess not too many people would. I'm sorry."

Bubbles scooted over and gave her sister a hug. "I know. I forgive you."

As Bubbles hugged her, Buttercup felt a wave of relief fall over her. Once again, sisterly love had won out. Yeah…once again….

"You know, we seem to do this too often," Buttercup noted. "I guess that's something we should work on. At least this time we can tell Blossom that it ended peacefully." Bubbles smiled. "We won't have to…" "Why not?" Her sister pointed at the slightly open door. "Because she's been listening in the hall for a while now."

At that moment, there was a sudden thud, and the door opened all the way to let in Blossom, who had tripped due to shock from being discovered and fallen on her face. She stood back up, wearing the look of someone who was caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "Bubbles! How did you know I was out there?" Bubbles chuckled. "I saw your shadow and used my x-ray vision through the door. You're not very sneaky…" Buttercup was wondering whether to be annoyed or amused. In the end, she chose the latter. "Hahahaha! Serves you right for listening in on our conversation!"

"Hey, I was there just for damage control, in case things got out of hand," said Blossom indignantly.

"HA! That's funny, because I thought you were there so you could listen in on our conversation!" Buttercup retorted.

"Well, yeah, but I was only doing it to…ahh, it doesn't matter! I'm just glad you guys worked it out yourselves. Now come on back downstairs, we still have an hour before we have to go to bed."

Buttercup hopped off the bed to follow Blossom downstairs, but was surprised when Bubbles didn't do the same. "Hey, you coming, Bubbles?" Bubbles just shook her head.

"…Not yet. You guys go ahead. I just want to stay here and think a bit more."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Buttercup walked towards the door. "Do you want this closed all the way?"

Bubbles took a second. "Yeah, I guess…" Buttercup closed it slowly, and before it was shut…

"Wait! Okay…maybe leave it open a bit."

Buttercup smiled. "No problem." And with the weight off her chest and a better understanding of her sister, she headed back downstairs.

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And that's it. Hope you enjoyed it! Please read and review! All critisisms welcome (provided you give reasons as to why you did or did not like the story). 


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